1. Field of the Invention
The present invention relates to an information processing apparatus that controls an image forming apparatus on which a plurality of option units is mountable and a control method thereof, a computer program and an image forming system.
2. Description of the Related Art
Recently, large-size digital multi-function peripherals are provided for high-end market for providing a print service called Print On Demand (POD) for the high-end market. With such large-size digital multi-function peripheral, various types of devices (option units) can be mounted to a main body unit in order to realize advanced finishing functions such as booklet printing, stapling, punching and the like. Option units required according to user needs can be selected to configure digital multi-function peripheral in various combinations of option units.
With such digital multi-function peripheral, processing for booklet printing and the like can be realized by changing settings on a panel user interface (hereinafter panel UI) provided on a main body. Alternatively, print settings can also be controlled using a print control program referred to as a printer driver on a host computer.
When executing printing from the print driver, settings are performed using a user interface of the printer driver (hereinafter driver UI). When performing setting with the driver UI, available functions will be unclear unless an option unit configuration of a digital multi-function peripheral to be printed is known in advance. Accordingly, there exists a printer driver equipped with a function for acquiring an option unit configuration of devices from a driver UI and displaying a preview screen of the option unit configuration.
In addition, digital multi-function peripheral in the high-end market include those which allow a mounting order of option units to be changed arbitrarily. With respect to digital multi-function peripherals provided with option units for which a mounting order thereof can be changed arbitrarily, a method for automatically recognizing a mounting order or the like has been proposed (Japanese Patent Laid-Open No. 7-6121).
Furthermore, with such digital multi-function peripherals that enable the mounting order of option units to be changed arbitrarily, there are cases where a functional restriction is applied depending on the mounting order of option units. For example, in the case where the orders of a puncher unit that realizes a function for opening punch holes and a folding unit that realizes a function for scoring paper are interchanged, punching processing can be performed after performing folding processing. Conversely, a restriction is conceivable such as the folding processing cannot be performed after performing the punching processing.
However, with respect to a restriction dependent on a mounting order as described above, the following problem exists when performing print setting on the printer driver side. That is, there is a problem in that a contradictory setting will be transmitted to the digital multi-function peripheral unless accurate order information of an option unit configuration is sent to the printer driver and, further, the contradiction in the setting dependent on the mounting order is resolved.